Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – The United States has renewed calls for progress toward a final resolution to the Western Sahara dispute following talks between US presidential advisor Massad Boulos and Algerian Ambassador to Washington Sabri Boukadoum.
In a statement published on X, US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Boulos said Washington appreciates Algeria’s “constructive engagement” toward reaching a “mutually agreeable solution” to the dispute, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2797. He added: “It is time to reach a resolution.”
The remarks reflect renewed US pressure on Algeria to engage more directly in advancing a political settlement, as Algeria appears increasingly aware that the regional and diplomatic landscape around the file is shifting and that maintaining the status quo is becoming harder to sustain.
This comes despite Algeria’s long-standing position that it is not a party to the dispute, even as it continues to host and support the Polisario Front’s leadership, a contradiction frequently highlighted in diplomatic debates surrounding the conflict.
The American official’s statement comes in the wake of growing international backing for the UN framework established under Resolution 2797, which endorses Morocco’s autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the most feasible basis for negotiations.
Boulos’s praise for Algeria’s role has also fueled speculation over whether Algiers is gradually softening its position on the dispute, particularly after recent remarks from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
In a recent media appearance, Tebboune notably adopted a more restrained tone on the Western Sahara issue, saying only that the UN resolution is “making its way,” without repeating Algeria’s usual sharp criticism of Morocco’s autonomy initiative. Observers viewed the statement as a possible indication that Algeria is beginning to acknowledge the new diplomatic reality surrounding the file.
Read also: In Despreate Bid to Revive Sahara File, Polisario Committed Political Suicide
The developments come shortly after the Polisario Front’s attacks on Morocco’s southern city of Es-Smara, which triggered a wave of international condemnation and renewed calls for de-escalation and a political solution under the UN-led process.
Countries including the United States, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Liberia, and the Czech Republic issued statements condemning the attack and stressing the need to avoid escalation and return to dialogue.
UN Special Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura also reacted by stressing that the moment calls for restraint and renewed political engagement, warning against any further military escalation and reiterating the importance of continuing the UN-led process to reach a negotiated settlement.
